AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn men's tennis will resume their conference schedule this Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT against No. 6 Kentucky. The Tigers will also host a doubleheader on Saturday against Ole Miss at noon CT and Alabama State at 5 p.m. CT.
Auburn will return to the Yarbrough Tennis Center, where they hold a 7-1 record this season, looking to regain momentum after a difficult road trip last weekend. The Tigers dropped a close match against both Mississippi State in Starkville and against Tulane in New Orleans.
"It will be good to be home, playing under conditions and courts that we know and fans that will come out and support us," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said about the upcoming homestand. "We've got to make sure that we're ready to go when we step out onto the court. That's the message – whether it's practice, conditioning, or match time, we're going to give everything we've got. If we leave everything out on the court, that's how we push ourselves and become better."
Even after the difficult weekend, Auburn remained in the ITA top-25 that was announced on Tuesday with a ranking of 22nd in the nation. The Tigers now have a 11-5 overall record and a 1-2 record in conference play. One of the bright spots over the weekend came from senior Tyler Stice, who recorded his first singles victory since the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic by upsetting Tulane's Fynn Kuenkler, the 80th ranked singles player in the country. The victory marked his 12th singles win of the season and the eighth singles win in dual matches.
Kentucky maintained a ranking of sixth in Tuesday's ITA rankings after a successful weekend that featured conference victories over No. 45 LSU and No. 49 Arkansas. The Wildcats currently have an impressive 15-2 overall record and a 3-1 record in Southeastern Conference play with the only conference loss being to South Carolina, currently the second-ranked team in the nation.
The Wildcats are led by senior Liam Draxl, who regularly plays at the top of their lineup. Draxl, who is ranked 23rd in singles, has a 12-3 dual match record and has won six consecutive. Wildcat junior Joshua Lapadat and senior Taha Baadi, who are ranked at 47th and 102nd in singles respectively, are both riding eight match winning streaks on the singles court entering Thursday's match.
Auburn's first opponent on Saturday, Ole Miss, currently holds a 12-2 record and is a perfect 2-0 in conference play. The Rebels are riding a nine-game winning streak heading into this Thursday's matchup with Florida.
Nikola Slavic is Ole Miss' lone ranked singles player at 69th and has played in the first spot in the singles lineup for the Rebels in every dual match so far this season. Slavic is currently 14-6 with a 10-2 singles dual record in 2023. On the top of the doubles lineup card, Slavic is paired with Lukas Engelhardt. The Rebels duo has an 8-3 record in dual matches, which is the best on the team.
Many of the Tigers have already faced Ole Miss players this season from the Commodore Invitational tournament back in September. In that tournament, Auburn's Raul Dobai and Finn Murgett defeated Ole Miss duo Lukas Engelhardt and John Hallquist Lithen. Dobai and Alejandro Moreno each recorded a singles victory over Engelhardt during the tournament as well.
The second opponent of Auburn's doubleheader on Saturday, Alabama State, currently holds a 4-10 overall record, but has started a perfect 3-0 in SWAC play. Auburn shutout the Hornets back in January by a 7-0 score.
Thursday's match against Kentucky will begin at 3 p.m. CT, Saturday's matches against Ole Miss and Alabama State will start at noon CT and 5 p.m. CT, respectively. Admission to all three matches at the Yarbrough Tennis Center will be free and fans will receive an Auburn Tennis t-shirt, orange rally towel, Auburn Tennis keychains, shakers and Auburn Tennis posters while supplies last. Live streaming video and live scoring of each match will be available online at AuburnTigers.com.